Homebuilding Down In Louisville

Louisville’s market for new housing is faring better than the rest of the country, but has softened significantly since last year.

Homebuilding in Louisville is down more than 30 percent from last year, as fallout continues from the sub-prime mortgage predicament.

As of earlier this week just over 240 new home permits had been filed in 2008, down from about 350 at this point last year.

Foreclosures in the Louisville area have nearly tripled since 2002.

Chuck Kavanaugh is the executive vice president of the Louisville Homebuilders Association. A drop in permits means there’s a surplus of new homes on the market.

“Anytime you get more product than demand you need to basically burn off your inventory,” says Chuck Kavanaugh, the executive vice president of the Louisville Homebuilders Association.

Home building is down and foreclosures are up nationwide but Kavanaugh says Louisville is doing better than most of the nation in that regard It remains statistically close to cities such as Nashville and Indianapolis